As most of the IHS students know, during your senior year you have the chance to substitute school for work for 6 weeks during the fourth quarter. This program is called Bridge. Mr Wood along with Mr Harvey have been running the bridge program for 2 years now. Last year the class of 2022 had 40 students who participated in Bridge. “Our goal is to have as many eligible students as possible to participate,” Mr Wood commented. Usually most seniors will reach out to a company that involves the career that they are hoping to go into during college to complete their Bridge there. 

To be able to do Bridge, there are a couple of things that you need to have to be approved to do it. To start, you can’t have more than 5 tardies in the third quarter, no more than 3 absences from any class in the third quarter, family vacations will not be considered unexcused absences but approved college visits are excused, you may not have been suspended from any extracurricular activities during your senior year. Lastly, Students with a failing quarter grade in any quarter of senior year classes are not eligible to participate in the program. When Mr. Wood was asked if he thought the requirements were fair he said, “I do think they are fair; you can’t have lower than 70 in any class in any quarter of senior year. It’s almost like a reward; I would not change the requirement.” 

Senior Jordan Townsend is a student that is interested in doing Bridge. “ I am excited to do bridge because I will get a feel for the workspace I plan on going into when I graduate college.”  Jordan plans on working at Winthrop Elementary school and is planning on majoring in elementary education when she goes to college. They only worry that Jordan has about participating in Bridge and is not coming to school everyday to see her friends. “My only worry is that I will not see my friends as often because I will be working 30 hours a week and school was where I made a lot of my social connections.” This is probably one of the only downsides of doing Bridge.

Bridge is a great opportunity not only because you’re getting out of school, but because you will also be getting paid. This is great for some students who don’t work throughout the winter and spring months of school. By the end of the 6 weeks that Bridge takes up, they will have a pretty good start to their bank accounts to lead them into the summer and their summer jobs. It’s also nice because seniors who are looking to go to college next year will have a head start on saving money over the summer to pay for college.  

If you have the opportunity to contribute to the Bridge program as a senior, you definitely should. It’s a great experience to get out of the classroom and see what it’s going to be like working full time. If you have any questions about Bridge, you can talk to Mr. Wood and Mr. Harvey.